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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. cell — a phone
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. season — in sport
  5. court — for sport
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. court — of law
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. wax — to grow
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. season — of the year
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. pitch — completely
  18. cold — an illness
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. cell — in biology
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. cold — not warm
  24. racket — for tennis

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com